For Christmas 2023, at the end of a year when many had been struggling with the cost of living, Ikea set out to give people an affordable alternative to the traditional Christmas meal centrepiece, swapping an expensive turkey for something a little friendlier on the finances: the Turkey-Sized Meatball.

The meatball was launched on social, encouraging the public to ‘Have a ball this Christmas’. This prompted a wave of questions: Is the Meatball real? Is it AI? Is it tasty or is it dry? And, of course, where can I get one?

The Turkey-Sized Meatball was real and was given away free via social and in store. And what started as a UK activation via a set of humble social posts quickly spread all over the internet. YouTube and Reddit were filled with popular posts questioning the reality of the meatball while podcasters discussed how exactly you would cook it. The story also went viral, gaining media coverage in everything from the New York Post to CNN and the Washington Post.

Ikea ended up receiving over 12,000 entries to the competition and generated hundreds of thousands more impressions on social when the winners posted themselves collecting their Turkey-Sized Meatball. Overall, the campaign catapulted Ikea into the limelight in the run up to the holidays, a time when the brand is rarely at the forefront of people’s minds.

Credits:
Agency: Mother
CCO/Partner: Felix Richter
ECD: Nick Hallbery
Creative Director: Dickie Connell
Creatives: Will Lancaster, Jay Daniells
Producer: Jen Price Thomas
Production Directors: Ben Waters, Andrew Redpath
Producer: James Aberdeen
Strategist: Vee Lockey
Strategy Director: Imogen Carter
Mothers: Sophie Marr, Lydia Miller
Design: Bia Alves
Editor: Frank Higson
Motion: Seb Camilleri
Client: Kemi Anthony, Marketing Communications Manager UK & IE